THE DAY HABANA CAME TO HAWICK
BRYAN HABANA playing for Hawick, even just once? Impossible, isn’t it? Well, not if Stuart Hogg manages to pull a few strings with his new colleague. Hogg is now a fellow Laureus Sport for Good ambassador along with Habana, after being officially inducted in his home town in the Borders. ‘I was down in Hawick with him (Habana) on Thursday,’ said the Scotland full-back. ‘It is great to be onboard with Laureus and I’m very much excited to be getting started with that.’ Yeah, but making sure the legendary South African winger pulled on the famous green jersey at some point was part of the deal, right? ‘It was great to show him the field of dreams at Mansfield Park and to tell him the story of growing up in Hawick,’ added Hogg. ‘He was admiring the pitch and saying he would love to get the boots on and play at Mansfield.’ Laureus Sport for Good currently supports more than 150 programmes in over 40 countries around the world who use the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage. Hogg is the latest high-profile ambassador to join forces with them. It is a cast list which already includes Habana, a World Cup winner with the Springboks in 2007, Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll, with All Black World Cup-winning skipper Sean Fitzpatrick the chairman of the organisation. ‘I am a firm believer in the power of sport and its ability to change lives,’ added Hogg. ‘It changed mine and has taught me lessons which will stay with me for the rest of my life. I’m
looking forward to helping Laureus Sport for Good in their goal to support more young people through sport.’ Hogg’s latest venture follows hot on the heels of the announcement that he is to leave Glasgow Warriors at the end of the current season to join Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership. From his Field of Dreams in Hawick, to Scotstoun, Sandy Park will be his new home as of this time next year. It is undoubtedly a blow for Scottish rugby to lose one of its prized assets. But his movements on and off the pitch speak of the maturity of the man. Hogg will earn a salary of £500,000 at his new club. But it’s not all about money. If it was, he would have chosen to move to France instead, where that figure would have increased significantly. Few would grudge Hogg his bumper new deal. This is a man who clearly gives so much back to his sport and is incredibly generous with his time, a trait which is not always prevalent in superstar players. His decision to leave Warriors stemmed partly from a desire to try something new after almost a decade of service to the Scotstoun club. Family, though, played the most important factor. Something which he admits may cause him one or two issues over the coming months. Speaking publicly for the first time since the move was announced, the 26-year-old said: ‘I’m sure the people down in Exeter will understand me, but they won’t understand my wife. She’s broad Hawick. ‘But we’re very much looking forward to it. The accent won’t be changing much — we might have to slow down a little bit when I’m speaking, but we’ll be fine. ‘I’ve heard nothing but good reports about Exeter — and the club and the culture they’ve got down there. Exeter play an exciting brand of rugby and I believe I’ve made a very good decision. All going to plan, it will be after the World Cup I join up with them. ‘I’m just really looking forward to having potentially my best season at Glasgow and finish off on a high. There’s still a lot of rugby to play this season. ‘It’s a new challenge for myself and my family moving to the bottom of England. ‘I spoke to Sam Skinner (Scotland team-mate and fellow Exeter Chiefs player) about it the first time I met him in St Andrews. But, being the big, dumb forward that he is, he didn’t click on at all! ‘But he’s given me a few good spots to have a look at. I’m going to go down next weekend and have a little look around and see what the place has to offer.’ Hogg was initially expected to miss the autumn Tests due to an ankle injury but returned well ahead of schedule to start against both Fiji and South Africa. Murrayfield collectively held its breath, then, with the sight of the full-back having to hobble off in the second half of the defeat to the Springboks, seemingly nursing his ankle once again. Insisting he will be fighting fit for the visit of Argentina this Saturday, though, he said: ‘I just rolled my bad ankle, got it caught in a tackle. ‘It was a little bit achy but nothing I haven’t had before. I tried to hide for a while but then they kicked it straight to me. It feels grand today and I’m ready to crack on with a new week.’ Of the visit of the Pumas to BT Murrayfield, Hogg added: ‘They’ve got some terrific individual players and play well collectively. They’ve had a couple of cracking wins in the Rugby Championship, so we are fully aware of the challenges coming our way.’ Asked whether he managed to take Habana for a pint on their visit to Hawick, Hogg said: ‘No, we were obviously very, very professional.’